Transcript Exodus - The Word and the Sword

Who Wrote the Book of Exodus
• It is attributed to Moses.
• “Higher Criticism” has denied Moses is the
author of the Pentateuch.
Dating the Book of Exodus
• 1440 BC – date based upon internal evidence
(1 Kings 6:1).
• 1290 BC – date based upon archaeological
information.
– However, some discoveries have supported the
earlier date.
Outline
I. God Delivers Israel
II. The Law
III. The Tabernacle
1-18
19-24
25-40
Exodus 1-2
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Genealogy
Bondage in Egypt
Birth and Childhood of Moses
Moses Flees to Midian
1:1-6
1:7-22
2:1-10
2:11-25
Exodus 3-6
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God calls Moses to return to Egypt.
Identifies Himself as the “I AM.”
Moses offers excuses – God offers help.
Pharaoh increases the workload of the
Israelites.
• God assures Moses He
will deliver the children
of Israel.
The Ten Plagues - Exodus 7-12
The Ten Plagues - Exodus 7-12
“Who is the Lord, that I
should obey His voice and
let Israel go?” (Ex. 5:2).
The Ten Plagues - Exodus 7-12
“Against all the gods of
Egypt I will execute
judgment: I am the Lord”
(Ex. 12:12).
1. Water Turned Into Blood
• Exodus 7:14-25
• The Nile River was worshiped as a god.
• God made the object of their worship
loathsome to them (v. 18).
• Pharaoh had commanded
the male children born to
the Hebrews be cast into
the river (Ex. 1:22).
2. Frogs
• Exodus 8:1-15
• Heqet was a frog-headed
deity; goddess of childbirth,
creation, and grain
germination.
• Pharaoh’s magicians could
not remove the frogs.
3. Lice
• Exodus 8:16-19
• One who was infected with
lice was considered impure.
• This plague halted all
religious practice in Egypt.
4. Flies
• Exodus 8:20-32
• This plague demonstrated
God’s power over
Beelzebub, the god who
was said to protect Egypt
from swarms of flies and
other insects.
• Goshen was spared from
the swarms of flies (v. 22).
5. Death of Livestock
• Exodus 9:1-7
• Apis, a sacred bull, was an object of their
worship.
• Hathor, goddess of beauty, love, joy, was
represented by a cow.
6. Boils
• Exodus 9:8-12
• Furnace was a brick kiln (NASV, ESV) - a source
of agony to the Children of Israel.
• The magicians with Pharaoh realized they
were powerless before the God
of Moses and withdrew
themselves from aiding Pharaoh
in the confrontation (v. 11).
7. Hail
• Exodus 9:13-26
• Nut, the goddess of the sky,
could not prevent the hail.
• Isis and Seth, gods of
agriculture, could not
protect the crops.
8. Locusts
• Exodus 10:1-20
• Servants of Pharaoh proclaim “Egypt is
destroyed” (v. 7).
• The locusts devoured
all vegetation that
had not been
destroyed by the
hail.
9. Darkness
• Exodus 10:21-29
• Demonstrated God’s power over
Ra, the sun god of Egypt.
• Considered one of the most
powerful and important gods
of Egypt.
• Pharaoh himself was believed to
be the embodiment of Ra.
10. Death of Firstborn
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Exodus 11:4-8, 12:29-30
Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead.
Selket, the god who guarded life.
Renenutet, cobra goddess and
guardian of Pharaoh.
Effect of Plagues Upon Egyptians
• They were tortured by the very things they
worshiped.
• Moses and the Children of Israel gained favor
in the eyes of the people of Egypt.
• Many of them were able to realize there is no
god like the God of Israel (Ps. 86:8).
Effect of Plagues Upon Egyptians
• They
were
tortured
by
the
very
things
they
• The Plagues were the first exposure of
worshiped.
the false religion of idolatry.
• The
great
Am” defeated
every
god offavor
• Moses
and
the“IChildren
of Israel
gained
dramatic
way
in theEgypt
eyesinofthe
themost
people
of Egypt.
possible.
• Many
of them
able
to realize
• How
ironicwere
that the
nation
which there
had itsis no
god like
the God
of the
Israel
(Ps. 86:8).
beginning
with
exposure
of the
futility of idolatry would be plagued by
this sin for centuries!
Exodus 12-18
• Departure from Egypt
• Passover Regulations
• Unleavened Bread and
Firstborn Regulations
• Red Sea Crossing
• Song of Moses
• Manna and Water
• Jethro’s Advice
12:31-42
12:43-51
13:1-16
14
15
16-17
18
Circumstances Regarding the Giving
of the Ten Commandments - Ex. 19
• The Ten Commandments were the means by
which Israel entered into a covenant
relationship with God (vs. 3-6).
• They agreed to obey God’s voice (vs. 7-8).
• They consecrated themselves (vs. 9-11).
• Commandments given in a very dramatic
manner (vs. 16-19).
• The people feared God (20:18-19).
The Ten Commandments
• First four commandments dealt with their
relationship with God.
• Remaining commandments dealt with their
relationship with their fellow man.
The Law
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The altar
Slaves
Personal Injury
Theft
Property Damage
Dishonesty
Immorality
20:22-26
21:1-11
21:12-36
22:1-4
22:5-6
22:7-15
22:16-17
The Law
• Civil and Religious Obligations 22:18-23:9
• Ceremonial Laws
23:10-19
• Conquest of the Land
23:20-33
• Covenant Ratified
• Glory of the Lord
24:1-8
24:9-18
The Tabernacle
• Instructions for Building
Tabernacle, Furnishings,
and Priestly Garments (25-31)
• Golden Calf Incident (32-34)
• Work Completed (35-40)
Criticism Against the Book of Exodus
Criticism Against the Book of Exodus
• “The truth is that virtually every modern
archaeologist who has investigated the story
of the Exodus, with very few exceptions,
agrees that the way the Bible describes the
Exodus is not the way it happened, if it
happened at all.”
Rabbi David Wolpe, 2001
• Why aren’t there historical records of the Exodus
events among the artifacts of ancient Egypt?
• The Egyptians were notorious for a “policy” of never
recording events that would embarrass a monarch or
the nation as a whole.
– Records of the Hykos rulers were erased.
– Pharaoh Thutmosis III destroyed virtually all records
relating to a previous ruler, whom he despised.
– Pharaoh Akhenaten
• If they tried to erase these portions of their history,
why would we expect them to keep records of the
most devastating defeat their army, economy, and
gods suffered?
• Why isn’t there any archaeological evidence of the
Exodus in the wilderness, where the children of Israel
spent 40 years?
• They lived as nomads in tents. They did not construct
permanent structures.
• Anything they left behind would have been lost in
the sands of the desert over the past 3,000 plus
years!
Limits of Archaeology
• Many critics who doubt the historicity of the
Exodus share a problem: over-reliance on
what archaeology can prove.
• Archaeology is, in fact, a limited and imperfect
area of study in which the interpretation of
findings, as archaeologists readily admit, is
more of an art than a hard science.
Limits of Archaeology
1. little of what was made or written in antiquity
survives to this day
2. few of the ancient sites have been surveyed and a
number have not even been found
3. probably fewer than 2 percent of the known sites
have been meaningfully excavated
4. few of these have been more than scratched; and
5. only a fraction of the fraction that have been
excavated have been published and data made
available to the scholarly world.
Edwin Yamauchi, “The Stones and the Scriptures,”
1972: chapter 4
Importance of the Book of Exodus
Importance of the Book of Exodus
• Exodus is the fount and origin of the national
life, law and organized religion of Israel.
• The psalmists and prophets repeatedly
referred to Israel as the nation God had
delivered from Egypt.
Importance of the Book of Exodus
• Has been called the gospel of the Old
Testament.
• It is a detailed record of God’s efforts to
redeem the physical nation of Israel, as the
Gospel is a record of God’s effort to redeem
spiritual Israel – the church.
Importance of the Book of Exodus
• “The exodus is the most significant historical and
theological event of the Old Testament because it
marks God’s mightiest act in behalf of his
people...To it the Book of Genesis provides an
introduction and justification, and from it flows
all subsequent Old Testament revelation...In the
final analysis, the exodus served to typify that
exodus achieved by Jesus Christ for people of
faith, so that it is a meaningful event for the
church as well as for Israel”
Biblical historian Eugene Merrill
Importance of the Book of Exodus
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Jesus and the “I Am” (John 8:58; Matt. 22:32).
Jesus and the manna (John 6:49-51).
Christ is our Passover (1 Cor. 5:7).
Paul spoke of Red Sea crossing (1 Cor. 10:1-2).
Stephen and author of Hebrews spoke of the
events from Exodus (Acts 7:17-44; Heb. 11:23-29).
Importance of the Book of Exodus
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Exodus teaches us about God.
The holiness of God.
A God who remembers His promises.
A God who acts to bring about His will.
A God who hears the plight of His people.
A God who is greater than the gods of men.
A God who expects faith and obedience from
His people.